


Seven Days would not be Enough with You

by PracticalSuccubus



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Famous, Free day, M/M, Pegoryu Week, Pegoryu Week 2020, Role Reversal, Shadows - Freeform, Soulmates, awkward teens, lazy sunday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25837723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PracticalSuccubus/pseuds/PracticalSuccubus
Summary: Happy PegoRyu week! This will be my compilation for 2020.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	1. Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> Casually dying as I do both AU-gust and PegoRyu week. 
> 
> I'll manage somehow.

Ryuji stared at the mirror, sighing softly. 

Wasn’t it supposed to grow by now? 

He was _supposed_ to have a streak of his soulmates’ hair color in his hair. One that couldn’t be cut or dyed or anything. The only way it’d change is when his soulmates’ hair would change, so he could find them easier. But now he was in middle school, and nothing about his hair had changed at all. 

Was this his fault? Was he not worth a soulmate? Had his father been correct when he had said that? 

He tugged at his hair a bit, parting it this way and that, but there was nothing. No change. Ryuji sighed again, and flopped onto his bed. Maybe his father had been right all along. He didn’t deserve a soulmate. He wasn’t worthy of one.  
~

Akira parted his hair for the umpteenth time. 

Why hadn’t his hair changed?! 

This was so stupid. His parents had told him it would be apparent when he had started growing hair, but Akira was now in middle school, and he still didn’t have a streak of his soulmates’ hair color. 

Something was off, he was so sure, but then again, it should’ve been showing by now, right? He was trying to keep his hopes high, but every day that passed and he didn’t see it, it just weighed on his heart more and more. 

Did he not have a soulmate? Was that it? No, he had to have one. Everyone...everyone had someone, right? Or maybe, he was just fated to be alone. Maybe...maybe he didn’t have one at all. 

He left the bathroom, and laid on his bed, staring at his wall. He wished there was another way to tell if he had a soulmate or not. He supposed dying his hair was an option, but it wouldn’t be easy to convince his parents he was going to do it. They wouldn’t let him, even if it was so he could find out if he had a soulmate or not. 

A few tears escaped his eyes, and soaked into his pillow. He just wanted to know if someone...anyone...truly wanted him. Was that too much to ask? 

Akira hiccuped slightly, and held one of his pillows close to his body.  
~  
When Akira was in his first year of high school, in the middle of the day, he had been checking the mirror again, when his eyes landed on something new. 

A yellow blond streak was running through his raven hair. 

That hadn’t been there the day before! He could’ve screamed. He _did_ have a soulmate! He knew it! He knew it, he knew it, he knew it! He wouldn’t be alone! He was wanted by someone! Now the only barricade in his wway was finding whomever his soulmate turned out to be.  
~

Ryuji was admiring his newly-dyed hair in the mirror. Sure, it made him stand out even more, but now that his life was spiralling out of control, this was one thing he felt he still had a grip on. 

As he continued to admire it, he noticed something. A glaring raven streak in his hair that hadn’t been dyed. Hadn’t been dyed…

Ryuji’s eyes started to water, as he realized what this meant. He had a soulmate. _He had a soulmate!_ His father had been wrong. He did have one. He jst never knew. He should’ve dyed his hair long before this. Maybe then he wouldn’t have believed his father’s lies so easily. 

Now all he had to do was find out who it was. 

He blinked the tears out of his eyes. His mom would be so happy when she got home.  
~

Akira couldn’t believe he had forgotten to take an umbrella with him today. Standing under this awning, he was going to wait until the rain let up some so he could continue on to school. He had to be a model student, no matter what happened. He was going to prove he hadn’t done anything. He wasn’t some aggressive teen who assaulted or hurt anyone who looked his way. 

The girl that had left with the teacher in his car. She had had blonde hair, but it wasn’t the right shade of blonde that was in his hair. He knew that she wasn’t the one. 

“Damn that pervy teacher!” 

A loud voice broke him out of his thoughts. When he looked up, his dark eyes met shocked brown eyes. Looking at the boy’s hair made him gasp slightly. 

The hair was blond. 

Just like the streak in his hair.


	2. Famous

The owner of the most cutting-edge boutique in Tokyo, Akira Kurusu, was no stranger to the paparazzi showing up in his shop. His picture was taken. He gave interviews. Letting magazines know which items were the hottest of the season. 

Not only that, but he also participated in fashion contests monthly. Receiving the prize money, trophies, and exclusive patterns were all fine and dandy, but Akira’s favorite part was designing. He loved buying bolts of fabric for different patterns. Buying from suppliers. His store manager, Yusuke Kitagawa, would often help in dressing the mannequins for display. Yusuke’d also help when he was sketching out ideas. Help him with ideas. 

But there was also one more very important person in his life. His dear photographer and loving boyfriend, Ryuji Sakamoto. 

Akira loved Ryuji dearly, and Ryuji loved him back. The only thing was that no one knew of their relationship. When Ryuji would take pictures of Akira for articles relating to fashion, or if they had been at an event together, and he snapped a few pictures of him, it was seen as a photographer doing his job. They were careful to not get caught. Arriving at their home at different times. When going out to eat, sometimes they had to sit away from each other, but they had a new system in place for restaurant dates. They’d order what they wanted, eat a few bites of everything, and then ask for a box. They’d pay, leave separately, and drive different cars back home. Akira’d take a taxi most of the time to not raise suspicion, and then they’d eat their boxed dinners together at their table. Sometimes they’d hold hands, or just gaze into each others’ eyes for a while. 

Movie dates were easier, due to the darkness of the theaters. They’d sit in the back corner, share a large popcorn. Get sodas. They’d share snacks, often bringing some from home. 

But all changed one day when one of Ryuji’s colleagues, Ann Takamaki, got a luck shot of the two going into their home together. Within hours, the photo of them was circulated everywhere. Akira’s cellphone ceased to stop ringing, interviewers wanting to know everything about his relationship. Akira finally shut his phone off, and stared at Ryuji. 

“Well.”

“Well?”

The two sat on their couch, and Akira held Ryuji’s hand. 

“It’s been a question I’ve wanted to ask you for a while now. I wanted to know if you were comfortable with coming out as my boyfriend. I didn’t want to do anything you weren’t comfortable with. But, you’d get a lot more attention than you already have on you. Would you be okay with that?” Akira asked. 

Ryuji started to think it over. It’d be a lot of new pressure on him, but after that picture, what else could he do? 

“I have another Contest tomorrow. We could do it after the fact, if you want,” Akira said. After a while, Ryuji gave his hand a squeeze, and smiled at him. 

“Let’s do it.”   
~

The next night, after the Contest, Akira and Ryuji sat in the lobby for the next few hours, answering questions, posing for pictures, and the like. Just as Akira thought, a lot more questions were to Ryuji, but his boyfriend was holding up. When they got home that night, both of them collapsed onto the bed. They snuggled up to each other, and Ryuji clumsily removed Akira’s glasses, putting them on the nightstand. 

“Should we change?”

“Nah.”

“Aren’t you a clothes expert or somethin? Won’t they wrinkle?”

“Shut your beautiful mouth, I’m tired.”

Ryuji smiled softly, and tucked a few strands of hair behind Akira’s ear. Akira gave him a tired smile in return, and the two soon fell asleep in each others’ arms.   
~

The next day, when Akira woke up, Ryuji wasn’t in bed. He heard his voice somewhere in the house, but was still too tired to get up. He heard Ryuji enter the room a few minutes later, and when he turned to him, Ryuji was carrying a tray with two plates. Akira sat up, and Ryuji put the tray on the bed, then got back on. 

“Aww, you didn’t have to do this,” Akira said as he started to eat. 

“After what we went through last night, ‘Kira, I figured I’d spoil ya a bit,” Ryuji smiled brightly. 

“You are the best boyfriend in the entire world. I hope you know that,” Akira said, moving the tray slightly so he could give Ryuji a kiss. He caressed Ryuji’s cheek as they both melted into it. Ryuji put his arm around Akira as they broke apart for air, and Akira smiled breathlessly at him. 

“I can’t wait to marry you someday, Ryuji Sakamoto.”

“AKIRA!”


	3. Lazy Sunday

There wasn’t much to do, now that Futaba’s Palace had been taken care of. Now all that was left was to wait for Futaba to wake up and help them with Medjed, and they’d be in the clear. They finally had free time to just relax and enjoy their summer. 

Ryuji and Akira were currently residing in Akira’s attic, watching old, cheesy movies to pass the time. They had the fan on and pointed at them, and even though they were still hot, they refused to let go of one another. 

It was just them, today. Morgana was with Ann for the day, Yusuke had something he was painting, and Makoto was busy with something else. It didn’t bother them, however. That just gave them more time to cuddle up and spend time with each other. 

It wasn’t long ago when Akira had asked Ryuji out. Ryuji had been flustered, sure, but after all they had been through so far, it felt as though he had known Akira for a much longer time than it had been. Long story short, Ryuji had accepted, and even though they were still in the early stages of their relationship, their favorite thing to do was cuddle up to each other, no matter the temperature. 

Akira’d drape his arms around Ryuji from behind, and lean on him slightly, burying his face in Ryuji’s neck. Ryuji’d hold Akira’s arms and lean back slightly, burying his face in Akira’s hair slightly. 

“RyRy?” Akira mumbled softly into his boyfriend’s neck. Ryuji blushed slightly. He was still getting used to all the pet names that Akira would call him. ‘RyRy’ and ‘Puppy’ seemed to be Akira’s favorites. 

“Y-Yeah?” Ryuji asked. 

“I like you. I like you a whole lot,” Akira said, pressing a kiss to Ryuji’s shoulder. 

“I-I like ya, too, ‘Kira,” Ryuji said softly. Akira’s hold tightened on Ryuji’s waist, and he snuggled into him more. 

“I’m glad I’m here with just you, today. I love spending time with just you. No one else but you and me,” Akira said softly. 

“Mmm.”

Ryuji didn’t have to say anything to that. Akira knew he liked it, too. Ryuji turned slightly inAkira’s arms and snuggled into him. The movie they had been watching was now long forgotten. Ryuji felt so happy and safe inside Akira’s arms. He had thought he’d never be this happy in his entire life. Before he had met Akira, he had been highly considering dropping out of high school. 

He knew it would’ve made his Ma sad, but with everything that had happened with Kamoshida, it had been weighing so hard on him. Ever since he had met the raven haired boy, however, his entire would had been turned upside down. 

School was still rough, even after Kamoshida’s confession, but it was a little less so than before. 

“You wanna know something, Ryuji?” Akira murmured. 

“Hm?” Ryuji raised his head a little, and he saw Akira was just gazing into his eyes with a look one could only describe as true love. 

“No matter what anyone says to you, you are so very important to me, okay? You’re the light of my life. My sunshine,” Akira said, caressing Ryuji’s cheek. Ryuji could feel his face turning a bright red, and he hid it in Akira’s chest, letting out a squeak of embarrassment. Akira chuckled, and started to kiss Ryuji’s head softly. 

Even though they had been less than productive today, neither of them cared in the slightest. They had ended up falling asleep just like that, being held in each others’ arms. When Morgana had returned to the attic, he had rolled his eyes slightly, but instead of waking them up, he just jumped onto Akira’s bed quietly, and curled up slightly, soon falling asleep himself.


	4. Role Reversal

Ryuji Sakamoto was new to the area. He had just started Shujin Academy, and already people were telling him to avoid one student in particular. His name was Akira Kurusu, and was a known troublemaker. The thing Ryuji noticed, however, was that Akira didn’t seem like the type. 

He was on the volleyball team, led by the school’s coach, Suguru Kamoshida. And if anything, it seemed like Akira was hiding something. But it didn’t register as _troublemaker_ in his mind. Maybe it was the scar over Akira’s left eye that gave the students the impression? And how it was a light grey instead of a deep grey like the left? Ryuji didn’t know what had happened, being new and all, but he was sure just appearance wasn’t enough to label someone as such. 

Akira had literally run right into his life one morning, muttering something about a pervy teacher. 

“Um, pervy teacher?” Ryuji asked. 

“That damn Kamoshida!” Akira exclaimed. 

“Is he really that bad?” Ryuji asked. 

“Yeah.. he’s harassed a shit ton of students and...” he hesitated slightly, biting his lower lip. He shook his head, deciding to return to his route to school. His smile returned to his face, as he gave Ryuji a pleasant look. “C’mon, I know a shortcut to Shujin.”

As the two continued down Akira’s shortcut, Ryuji couldn’t shake the feeling that something felt _very wrong_. He only stopped when Akira stopped, and the two were gazing at a castle in place of the school. . 

"Is....Is this Shujin? I don't remember it looking like this," Ryuji said.

“Hell no...” Akira muttered, looking at his surroundings. Were they lost? Did they take a wrong turn somewhere? Akira groaned under his breath and walked straight towards the castle.

“Let’s go. Whoever is here they might know were we are, and might help us,” he said. 

"It might be dangerous," Ryuji said as he jogged to catch up with Akira. He did not have a good feeling about this place, and he didn't want anything to happen to Akira or himself.

“Its not like we have any other option. Besides, it feels...off, somehow,” Akira said. “This is really weird. A person walked over to them, dressed from head to toe in armor. They held a sword in their hand as they faced Akira and Ryuji. Akira got closer to Ryuji in surprise, and put his guard up to keep the both of them safe.

"Hey! What're you two intruders doing in here?" the knight asked.  
“You entered King Kamoshida's Castle without permission! You're intruders!" The knight accused. A few other knights came out and surrounded Akira and Ryuji. 

"This is bad," Ryuji muttered.

““King Kamoshida!? The hell?! Well where is he?” Akira exclaimed. 

"King Kamoshida doesn't have to show himself to lowly intruders like you. You're coming with us," the knight said, as they closed in in Akira and Ryuji. Akira started to panic slightly. There wasn't a way out. Not without Ryuji. He was thinking of a way to get them both out, when one of the knights raised its hand that held its sword, and hit him in the head with the handle. Akira blacked out from the hit. Another knight close to Ryuji did the same to him.

.

.

.

When Ryuji woke up, his head was throbbing in pain. He noticed Akira was already awake, and was standing near him. The boy seemed to be protective of him, even though they had barely spoken to each other ever since Ryuji had started Shujin. He certainly wasn’t complaining. He could only hope that Akira knew a way out of this place, lest something terrible happened to them both. 

Who knew what the future held? Perhaps after all of this craziness, a new friendship could blossom. And maybe even more than that.


	5. Awkward Teens

God, could kissing someone be any harder?! 

Akira had tried countless times now to finally kiss Ryuji, but something always happened or got in the way that prevented him from doing so. 

At Christmas, he had purposefully put up several sprigs of mistletoe, but whenever Ryuji was under one, he’d get just close enough until someone got there before him. Dazed, Ryuji walked away from the mistletoe. Every. Single. Time. 

Setting up a romantic evening at a restaurant had almost worked. He and Ryuji were so close, leaning closer and closer to each other. Just before they initiated the kiss, the waitress came with their food. Walking Ryuji home had almost worked, too, but Ryuji’s Ma had turned on the outside light just before they kissed. 

A romantic evening in Le Blanc almost worked, too, until Futaba had burst in and started talking to them about the newest Phoenix Ranger Featherman episode, and the new figurines she wanted, and how there was a new movie coming out, and she wanted to go. It was the closest Akira had come to screaming. 

Was this fate telling him that maybe he should stop pursuing Ryuji? Or that he just had to try harder? 

And as he might’ve thought, Akira’s attempts didn’t go unnoticed. 

Ryuji was waiting for his first kiss with akira. Well, his first kiss in general. But every time, it got interrupted, and Ryuji wasn’t sure how much more he could take. 

Finally, he decided he was going to set it up himself, and no matter what happened, he _would _get that kiss.__

__He had set up a special evening for just him and Akira. Inviting him was the easy part. He had just finished setting up when Akira got there. The two were sitting in his room, watching a movie on Ryuji’s TV. They had a bowl of popcorn between them, and a blanket wrapped around them._ _

__Ryuji’s heart was pounding inside his chest. He didn’t know how he’d initiate the kiss, when the right moment would be, if he’d be a good kisser, he just didn’t know._ _

__“Ryuji?” Akira said gently, breaking the faux blond out of his thoughts._ _

__“Y-Yeah?” Ryuji asked. Akira smiled softly at him before kissing him. Ryuji’s eyes widened, then slowly shut as he melted into the kiss. When they gently broke apart, Akira was still smiling._ _

__“Don’t overthink about it too much.”_ _


	6. Shadows

This was….fucking creepy. 

Ryuji was never one to mince words. Especially now, exploring his boyfriend’s palace. He had known something was off when Akira couldn’t seem to summon any of his personas. He had just stuck to using his gun and his cane, but he was clearly troubled. 

Ryuji had tried to get something, anything out of him. Thinking that if it was him, Akira’d open up. He hadn’t wanted to push, but he knew if he didn’t, then something bad would happen. Akira had ended up breaking down in front of him,and had shown Ryuji on the MetaNav that he had had a Palace, but inside it, he was pointless. He couldn’t do a damn thing, and he hated it. He had begged Ryuji not to say anything about it. That everything would just be fine. Ryuji had carefully asked Akira for what the keywords might be, and Akira had told him. 

Now, behind Akira’s back, the entire team was now in his Palace without telling him. They had been standing in front of an impressively sized prison house. They had come up with the idea to split up, and see what they could find, promising to call in on the comm if anything did. 

God, this prison house felt so cold. Ryuji heard voices ahead, and he quickly hid behind a corner to listen in. 

“Is he almost done yet? Honestly. I have experiments to run.”

“Now now. You know how he is. He’s quite busy nowadays. I need some help from him, too, but I’m with you. I can only wait so long~”

That last voice sounded familiar to Ryuji. Peeking around the corner to take a look. He almost lost his lunch. 

There was the creepy doctor lady that had her practice near Le Blanc, but the cognition next to her…

Was Ann. 

A hand touched Ryuji’s shoulder, and Ryuji quickly covered his mouth and bit his tongue to keep from screaming. He turned his head, and came face to face with Akira’s Shadow. 

“It really is you. Come with me. If they see me, I won’t get any time with you,” the Shadow whispered. Ryuji didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded quietly. He followed his boyfriend’s shadow to a small room, and as Akira’s Shadow closed the door, Ryuji quietly turned on his comm, hoping the team would listen in. Akira’s shadow hugged him tightly. 

“Ohhh, Ryuji, I’m so happy it’s you!” he said happily. Ryuji froze, unsure of what to do for a moment, before hesitatingly putting his arms around the Shadow. 

“K-’Kira. What is this place?” Ryuji asked. 

“It’s a prison. For me, really. I’m supposed to stay locked up in a cell, but all the different guards always need me for something. They...They all want me to help them, Ryuji. Every last one of them. I’m just trapped in an endless cycle of helping everyone else.. Everyone lays their problems out to me, and I want to help them, but I…,” Akira’s shadow stopped, and held Ryuji tighter. The shadow’s shoulders shook slightly, and Ryuji soon felt a small wet spot on his thief outfit. 

“...’Kira,” Ryuji muttered. 

“This place. It’s a reflection of who I truly am, right? Maybe I was like this all along. Maybe I’m not really real. Maybe I’m just a damn Shadow that can exist between reality and the Metaverse, and all my memories of being human are fake. I only exist to help others. Is that right?” Akira’s shadow hiccuped. 

“No. That ain’t it at all. You ain’t a Shadow, for one. When we went to the Metaverse for the first time, ya didn't notice anything outta the ordinary, yah? Like I didn't. Wasn't the first time ya ever been in the Metaverse with me?" Ryuji asked. 

“I don’t know, anymore, Ryuji. I...I think that was the first time, but I could be wrong,” Akira’s shadow said. Ryuji opened his mouth to say something, but the door suddenly opened, and Ryuji was staring at the creepy doctor and Ann again. 

“There you are~!”

“We’ve been looking all over for you~!”

“You should leave, Ryuji. It’s too late, now,” Akira’s shadow said. 

“W-Wait!” Ryuji cried out, but the two cognitive beings took Akira’s shadow and pulled him off of Ryuji, leading him out of the room. He was silent for a few beats, before looking at his comm again. 

“Uh...if you guys heard that, we should group up and get outta here. I think we need ta talk.” 

Ryuji turned his comm off, and headed out of the room. Akira’s shadow was nowhere to be seen. As he headed towards the entrance, he made a firm vow in his mind. 

He’d do anything to help his boyfriend. Especially after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been planning my Akira has a Palace thing for a year now. I'll revisit this later, for sure.


	7. Free Day

Akira yawned as they piled into Haru’s limo. Today had been both physically and emotionally taxing, leaving Akira extremely exhausted. He was leaning on Ryuji, and was already asleep as the limo started to move. 

No one knew what to say as they watched Akira, who now had cat ears and a tail, transform into a cat almost instantly, and curl up in Ryuji’s lap. At first they all looked directly at Ryuji. 

“Don’t ask me. He didn’t tell me about any of this,” Ryuji defended. Turning to Futaba yielded the same answer. Oh well. Hopefully he’d tell them tomorrow. When the limo arrived at Le Blanc, Ryuji very carefully picked Akira up off his lap, and carried him out of the limo. He went inside with Morgana, and carried Akira upstairs, laying him on his bed. He’d stay withAkira tonight, wondering if this was just some strange Metaverse attack. 

“Your guess is as good as mine about this,” Morgana finally said, staring at the sleeping feline on Akira’s bed. He jumped up, and curled up as well, making Ryuji feel oddly jealous. He shook his head and got ready for bed. Once he was, finding one of his shirts mixed in with his stuff (wondering also if he had left it here at some point. He wasn’t sure.) He got on the bed. Morgana was still awake, but Akira hadn’t stirred from his slumber in the slightest. Ryuji wasn’t sure what to do at the moment. After thinking about it a bit, he moved Akira carefully, so he was laying on the mattress and not the blanket. He put the blanket over Akira slightly in a protective manner. 

Even if his boyfriend was apparently a cat at the moment, he still felt obligated to keep him safe. 

He placed a small kiss on Akira’s head, and soon fell asleep himself. 

The next morning, when Ryuji woke up, Akira was still fast asleep, but now he was….somewhat back to himself? He was back as a human, but now he just had cat ears and a tail. Ryuji gently shook him, and Akira yawned with a slight mewl at the end of it. He opened his eyes, and smiled at Ryuji, but then gave him a confused look. 

“You spent the night here?” Akira asked. 

“Uh, yeah. Listen man, I gotta ask ya somethin’” Ryuji said. 

“What is it?” Akira asked, sitting up. He noticed something on the side of him, and turned his head. His eyes suddenly grew wide, then he groaned. 

“I see,” Akira said simply. He closed his eyes, and the ears and tail seemed to vanish. When Akira opened his eyes, he looked at the bed. 

“Who else saw?” Akira asked. 

“The whole team,” Ryuji said bluntly. 

“Ah,” Akira said softly. He got his phone from his pocket, and opened it, messaging the group. 

Akira: Can you guys meet here in about twenty minutes? There’s something I need to explain. 

He put his phone up, and looked at the bed. 

“You….you were a cat last night, man. You were in my lap, fast asleep,” Ryuji explained. 

“So I fully transformed in front of everyone. Wonderful,” Akira sighed. He looked up at Ryuji.   
“I’m sorry if, uh, you didn’t like me sleeping in your lap….like that,” Akira mumbled. 

“It’s alright man. In fact it was...k-kinda cute,” Ryuji said, his cheeks going pink. Akira smiled at his blushing blond, and kissed him on the cheek. 

“You’re the best boyfriend in the entire world, you know that?” he said, making Ryuji blush brighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's curious, everything's the same except Akira's a Nekojin


End file.
